A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin

This is a series that my Brother-in-Law Kendall first clued me in to. It's remeniscent of Tolkein in it's sword and sorcery, it's emphasis on war and political infighting. Although it's odd to say it, it almost feels larger in scope than the Rings series. Where Tolkein followed the course of multiple characters, his story was really the tale of just 2, and it was told from a 3rd person perspective. Martin's tale follows the path of over 10 separate characters, with each chapter switching 1st person narration between them all. While this may sound confusing or convoluted, it's not. The narration is linear and comprehensive. And the characters are unique and fascinating. They are flawed and intriguing. This story limits the fantastical aspects, focusing more on character development and interplay, and politics. Martin took a number of years to write the first four books in this series, but by the time I heard about them, they were all published and available, with a fifth book already being marketed for release. I went online and reserved a copy of that fifth book, eagerly awaiting it's release - back in November of 2008. The release date was pushed back so many times, I lost count. All I know is that over 2 years later, it still hasn't been published.
But there is a television series coming out on HBO in April. I've heard that the amount of money being put into the project is incredible. They're shooting overseas and treating the production almost as if it were a big budget movie. And the casting looks great. They have Sean Bean (Boramir from the Rings movies) playing one of the lead roles. If the series is half as great as the source material, it'll certainly be worth a watch.
I reccommend this series to anyone and everyone.

Stephen King's The Dark Tower Series

Okay, so I stopped reading Stephen King almost 10 years ago. I felt that every story was just a different (very slight) twist on the same theme. Something about an ancient supernatural entity or force, something about an imminent catastrophe, something about a person who sees things that others don't, something about a kid. It got redundant.
Don't get me wrong, I loved It, and Insomnia, and Salem's Lot, and The Shining, and Four Past Midnight, and the list does go on.
But you know ...
Two friends of mine insisted that I read The Dark Tower series. And they were adamant. They said it was the ultimate Stephen King experience. They said that the mythos was enormous and impressive. They admitted that the first two books were slow, but that the story picked up fast after that, and was well worth the time.
And they were absolutely right.
The first two books were slow, but the story picked up speed fast, and charged full steam to its conclusion. The mythos is enormous and impressive, and rivals any created by Tolkein or Rowling or C.S. Lewis. The main character is one that you aren't sure whether or not you should like as much as you do. But he's awesome - an old-school western Gunslinger with a bit of the fantastical thrown in. Think Clint Eastwood on crack and lost in Narnia. The story deals with everything from a post-apocalyptic wasteland, to royal bloodlines and knights errant, to time travel, to the consequences of messing with a multiverse, to friendship and love, death and loss, duty and honor, to inserting an author into his own work and having way too much fun with it, to saving the world itself.
It's awesome.
Stephen King fan or not. Burned out on Stephen King or not - pick it up. It's well worth the time.

Heresy, by S.J. Parris

Holy crap, this book was awesome!
One of my favorite books of all time is The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco. Historical Fiction is my sweet spot. I love a good murder mystery, sprinkled with action, wrapped in a thick coating of esoteric/religious/political intrigue.

This book had all of that. It was well written, and even though it followed basic formula for an historical thriller, it was unique and beautiful in its telling.

And best of all, it set itself up for a follow-up novel. Can't go wrong with continuing a great story.

The Queen's Thief Series, by Megan Whalen Turner

I picked up this book on a whim, having nothing else to read other than my non-fiction at the time (Bart Ehrman's "Misquoting Jesus"). I MUST have a fiction to balance the non-fiction. One for thought, one for fun.
I noticed that it was a Newberry Honor winner, and after reading a sample, came to realize that it fit nicely into the sword & sorcery genre that I enjoy so much. It was a relatively thin book, and I considered it a tide-me-over until I could find some new series to capture my attention.
I'm not sure what I thought I was expecting from this book. But the simple storytelling and intense focus on the characters impressed me immediately. The fantasy/magic aspect of the tale was almost non-existent. It was found more in the amazing mythos created for this world by the author as opposed to real-time actions performed by the characters. More allusion than occurance. Really, the story was a character study, and the characters were fully realized and unique.

The pace was comfortable. The prose was straight forward. By the time I had finished this book, I was upset that there wasn't more to read. I had grown so attached to the characters and the mythos of the book that I was truly upset to be left with nothing more. Until I realized that it was the first in a series!
There were 2 additional books written and published, and I instantly devoured them. They held true to the first book's pace and structure, and continued the emphasis on the development of the characters. By the time I had finished the 3rd, a fourth had been published.
All in all, this is one of the finest series I've read. The story itself is very simple, but the history that the author creates for this world, the mythos and religion, the incredible thoroughness in how she creates, presents and utilizes her characters is breathtaking.
I highly recommend this series to everyone.

Eli's Library

Eli's library has become so large, that we can no longer continue to maintain a running list of titles ...